Families And Freedom to Choose — Otherwise Called Moral Agency

I watched a movie (beside the point which one) where a guy says, “if a man doesn’t have family, he doesn’t have sh*t.” (excuse my french here… I usually don’t use that kind of language) I couldn’t help agreeing with that. Even Hollywood can hit a homer at times…

In the end, when you are old and gray, (I’m only gray, not old yet!) who do you want to be near you? Drinking buddies? Golf buddies?

If you don’t have a family around you (and I mean people whom you consider family), make a decision now that it is not because you weren’t willing to be a part of it. If you’re alive, it means you still have time. That’s how simple it is.

We are all part of Heavenly Father’s family, whoever and wherever we are. He loves us no matter what we do or have done; He’s willing to stretch His hand out for us if we ask for it. The reason we have to ask for it is that He can not give us certain blessings unless we choose to want them.

It’s about agency. Agency means, that we are free to choose — and we’re also responsible for our choices; a thing that not all people appreciate until it’s too late — despite what some philosophers and theologians say. If we choose to call for Him, He answers. If we don’t He will not force Himself on us. Theoretically He could force us, but what good would it do for us? Nothing!

When you look at a young toddler, who is learning to stand on her own and walk. You can hold her hand, but she won’t be able to stand and walk on her own, unless you let go and let her fall down a couple of times, maybe getting a little bump in her head. You can only try to make sure that she doesn’t fall off a cliff as she staggers and stumbles before she has learned to balance independently. That is what Heavenly Father does for us.

And that is what Jesus Christ did/does for us. He learned how to balance independently — and even he cried out, “Abba [think “daddy”]let this cup pass… not as I will, but as thou wilt” — and when the inevitable happened, even he cried out, “my god, God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” [Doesn’t it make the sentence sound a little different, when you stress “thou”?]He stood alone, bearing the worst we can ever experience, on a scale that is impossible for a human mind to comprehend. He did it so that we don’t have to bear the full burden of our sins, if we turn to him.

Because of that, when we stumble and fall, and get a bump or two on our heads, we won’t fall off a cliff and become forever separated from our Father. Unless we will it.

This may be hard doctrine, but freedom of choice is real, at least in a spiritual sense. We may have circumstances far beyond our control [war, famine, pestilence], but if we are able [accountability comes from this] to discern good from evil — if we are able to choose between love and indifference, we are also responsible for what we choose.

To reiterate: There is nothing in this world or out of it that we can do to stop our Father from loving us. And we can choose to accept that love or spurn it. But his infinite mercy means, that because of the Atonement that Jesus Christ has done, there is nothing that is not fixable, although it may take some effort from our part, too. The Father can not give us his full blessings if we don’t accept them.

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” (Rev 3:20)

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